Love is ...

Ok, so I'm of that generation that remembers the film "Love Story" coming out and spawning all those "Love is.." definitions, T-shirts, mugs, posters and goodness knows what else.

And I'm sure I wasn't the only teen to get the hots for Ali McGraw..

..but enough of that. I liked this email so much I just had to post it.

A group of professional people posed the question What is love? to a group of 4- to 8-year-olds.

Here are some of the answers they collected:

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails any more. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." -- Rebecca, age 8

"When someone loves you , the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." -- Billy, age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." -- Karl, age 5

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."-- Nikka, age 6

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." -- Bobby, age 7

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." -- Chrissy, age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." -- Terri, age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him to make sure the taste is OK." -- Danny, age 7

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing , you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." -- Emily, age 8

"Love is when you tell a guy [that] you like his shirt, then he wears it every day." -- Noelle, age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." -- Tommy, age 6

"During my piano recital , I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." -- Cindy, age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." -- Clare, age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." -- Elaine, age 5

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." -- Chris, age 7

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." -- Mary Ann, age 4

"I know my big sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." -- Lauren, age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." -- Karen, age 7

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." -- Mark, age 6

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." -- Jessica, age 8

"When I went back to school after Mommy died, I tried hard not to cry, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't pay attention, or anything -- I just put my head down on my desk and cried and cried.

"I thought the other kids would make fun of me, but they didn't. They all put their heads on their desks and cried, too." -- L.D., age 8

"When nothing is left to you except God, no longer can anything distract you from finding out that God Himself is all you ever really needed." -- Anonymous